Personal Independence Payment (PIP) explained
PIP helps with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability. It's tax-free, not means-tested, and you can get it whether you work or not. It has two parts — daily living and mobility — each paid at a standard or enhanced rate based on assessment points.
Daily living and mobility
PIP has two separate components, and you can get one or both:
- Daily living — for help with everyday tasks: standard £73.90/week, enhanced £110.40/week.
- Mobility — for getting around: standard £29.20/week, enhanced £77.05/week.
How the rate is decided
An assessment scores you across 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities, looking at how your condition affects you reliably, repeatedly and safely. For each component:
- 8–11 points → standard rate.
- 12 or more points → enhanced rate.
- Fewer than 8 points → no award for that component.
Tax-free and a passport to more
PIP is not taxed and doesn't reduce other benefits — in fact it can increase them. Getting PIP can unlock extra amounts in Universal Credit, a Council Tax reduction, the Blue Badge, and entitle a carer to Carer's Allowance.
It can passport other help
Standard daily living only
Someone scoring 9 points for daily living and 4 for mobility gets the standard daily living rate (£73.90/week) and nothing for mobility, since mobility is below 8 points. That's about £73.90 a week, or roughly £3,843 a year, paid every four weeks.
Common PIP mistakes
- Underselling your worst days. The assessment considers whether you can do tasks reliably and repeatedly — describe your bad days, not just your best.
- Missing the reliability test. You score points if you cannot do something safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly, or in reasonable time.
- Not gathering evidence. Supporting letters from GPs, consultants and carers strengthen a claim significantly.
- Giving up after refusal. Many awards are won at mandatory reconsideration or appeal, so challenge a decision you think is wrong.